Iranian riot police clashed with teenage demonstrators who denounced supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Wednesday night, as protests continued for the second day.
According to AP, dozens of Khamenei supporters, riding on motorbikes, chased down some 300 protesters, beating them with sticks in the streets outside a Tehran University dormitory. The protesters chanted "Death to Khamenei" and threw stones at police, who threw them back.
About 200 students in the dormitory compound threw stones and molotov cocktails at the police. Several people were seen being carried away with head injuries.
The protests began peacefully Tuesday when a small student gathering against privatization of universities turned into the largest demonstration against Iran's political leadership since November.
Before the clashes broke out Wednesday, security officials warned that further demonstrations against the political leadership would not be tolerated.
Khamenei called Thursday for the statesmen to keep vigilance regarding recent "unrests" in the society which he declared led by America. Today, the Iranian nation is in dire need of hard-working, he said.
Meanwhile, government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said Wednesday that the government regards these disturbances as being against national security and interests. "It seems that some are who are after proving that there is no might in the country and this notion could destabilize the nation's sovereignty."
According to IRNA, Ramezanzadeh hinted that foreign influence may be cause of disturbances, "ostensibly to show that there are parallel and multiple centers of power running the country."
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
